1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for tracking calls through telecommunication networks and more particularly to a system for tracking calls to determine voice quality no matter which network the call is placed in, and informing the customer when service is below quality standards.
2. Description of the Background Art
Customer service is an important concept in any industry and especially in a complicated and competitive industry such as telecommunications. Telephone callers and users of other communication systems are very cognizant of the quality of the transmission and insist that their calls be clear and static free. Likewise, users of data systems, such as the Internet, also desire their transmissions to be timely and without fluctuations.
The situation has become more complex in the United States since telephone systems no longer are controlled by a single company. Thus, it is possible that a caller will be a customer of one company, the called person will be a customer of another company, and additional companies may be involved in transmitting the call between the two end points. To complicate matters further, if a data transmission is involved, various functions of the programs may be products of still further companies which are not involved with the actual transmission but which have produced the programs being used or perhaps the hardware being used.
Because of these complex systems, it is difficult for the customer or even the companies to know where problems exist when communications are not at the level of quality desired by the user. Since the user may appropriately refuse to pay for services which are not at the quality promised, revenues may be lost which are damaging to the companies involved. Perhaps more importantly, the goodwill of the customer and the reputation of the company may be even further damaged. Since more than one company is involved, it is possible that the customer will blame the wrong party and damage the business reputation of an innocent company.
In order for companies to provide the best service to the customers, to locate problem areas in their networks and to protect their reputations, systems have been developed to monitor the quality of calls. If problems are noted in time, the network can be modified to avoid problems by routing calls in a different direction in the network. Also, by noting the occurrence of low-quality service, companies can be more receptive to customer complaints.
While these systems are helpful, especially where communications occur within a single network, it has been difficult to provide for the tracking of calls where multiple networks are involved. Also, it is especially difficult to obtain any information where an application program is being utilized which has been sold by a particular company but where the calls are being routed through other companies only. Since customers who buy the applications program may blame the software for various problems rather than the carriers, it is important for the application software provider to be able to obtain information about the quality of communication service when their product is utilized.